skip to main |
skip to sidebar
You might get the idea that I'm not doing much quilting these days, and you'd be right. There are other things to do, like taking the kids on the Southbank Shuttle to Covington's Mainstrasse. It was a quiet scene there on a Tuesday afternoon, much different, I'm sure, than a weekend evening. There are lots of restaurants and bars lining a pretty boulevard.
And a playground beside a clock tower with a lovely carillon. We sat on the wide sidewalk and watched the Pied Piper puppets, complete with rats and kids. They come in one door and go out another, high on the clock tower. We visited a candy store, and grape Pop Rocks was the selection of choice. Then, back on the bus, over two bridges, back to the car.
Aaron and I went to tee ball practice, and Steph and Mike went to Nora's softball tournament. I listened to the coach tell the little guys again and again, "Don't sit on the grass, you'll get itchy." And I sat on the grass anyway and now I have lots of bug bites. The kids didn't listen either. Coaching five-year-olds takes all kinds of patience.
Aaron and I went on to Home Depot, much to his dismay. He'd had enough. Once in the door, though, he wanted to visit the mowers instead of the plumbing supplies. We got fifty-cent ice cream cones at Burger King and headed for home. Nora came in the door about an hour later, happy that her team had won.
I always admire large families with lots of cousins. They just look so much fun. Not that I'm not grateful for my small, precious family.
So, it was an amazing week to see my nephew Steve and his wife Janie and their almost-grown children, not one, but twice. Once on Monday night at Kings Island, with Steph and her family. A few rides and a little visiting. Leaving the park just as the lights were coming on.
Then again, on Friday, at Gatlinburg. A quick meet-up at the Smoky Mountain Brewery, where we had dinner and Steve and Janie's family went on to CiCi's, a family favorite. Sarah and Winnie and Winnie's dad were with us that time.
I should tell you that Steve and Janie live in Marquette, Michigan, which is way, way up there. They came down this way for a family vacation and we were lucky to meet up with them at two of their stops. We just happened to be camping in the Smokies when they visited Gatlinburg.
Above is Sarah with Steve at the Brewery. Sarah is a tall woman, but Steve towers over her.
Two great times, meeting not at funerals, as cousins often do, but in fun places. Like I said, it was amazing.
Just got back from getting that little sticker for my license plate - No Concealed Weapons, No Smoking, No Food or Drink. And today, no waiting. Just a REALLY large check, since we pay personal property taxes on vehicles in Kentucky. I checked my drivers license and it doesn't expire this year, so one check will do it this time. That office is half a mile from the County Clerk's office.
Down the street, I got some running socks for Sarah and mailed Ariel's birthday gift. And I'm wondering . . . how could I have lived here for six years and never noticed that free ten-minute button on the parking meters until last week? I used them three times this afternoon.
Still thinking about county offices . . .the trivia about Campbell County is that it's so large that it has two county seats, one on the north side in Newport and one on the south side in Alexandria. Apparently, when they set up these things, the rule was that the county seat had to be within a day's round trip by horse.
Yesterday the grands and I spent four hours at Every Child's Playground, under the Big Mac Bridge. That's about normal time for us, since they love being there. Aaron had about an hour of patching time left, and he educated anyone who asked about why the patch and how it works. We had stopped at the dollar store on the way for sand toys and Aaron got the plastic transformer arm covers. He kept them on the entire time and took them home with him.
Nora loves the sand volleyball area. There are water fountains close by and the kids drift back and forth, getting water for their projects. Later in the afternoon she joined a group of boys playing sand volleyball/dodge ball and had a wonderful time. That little girl had the best arm there.
One of the reasons I appreciate this park is because the kids can play in the shade without constant re-applying of sunscreen. That, and it's so close to home.
On the way home, we stopped at the meat market, a first for them, and the bakery. Good times.
I wonder whether there is a quilt in here somewhere. Masks.
There are surely lots of masks out there. I need to think about this.
Here are the characters in the Hampster Balls at Newport on the Levee: Aaron on the left, Aunt Sarah in the middle, and Nora on the right. If it's your birthday, you get a free turn in the hampster ball, so remember that. My hope is that by the end of the summer the kids will be tired of the hampster balls, but I doubt it.
Gardening at Gran B's. I suspect this may be a one-time occurence for these two, but who knows.
Selection of yogurt at Orange Leaf is serious business, involving tiny sample cups to see what the new flavors taste like. And then, probably, choosing chocolate.
Aaron was out of school last week and Nora's last day is tomorrow. Let the fun continue.
One of the things I love about moving to a new house is watching in the spring to see what kinds of flowers the previous owners planted. I think I've mentioned before that the only surprise in my current house was - peonies. And some ground cover and some old-time out-of-control shrubs.. The peonies were their prettiest this spring, probably because I was diligent about weeding out honeysuckle and other unwanted things.
When Sarah and Winnie were here, we went shopping for some nice plants for my front yard garden. I'm already wishing that I'd written down the names of all the plants, like the one above with the delicate white blooms.
On Monday the whole family helped plant and mulch. I can't believe that I let the grands load mulch with a shovel and pitch fork, but they were so pleased with their "work" and were closely supervised. Now it's time to put in annuals and veggies, as well as to spread more mulch.
I've been longing for a privacy fence to replace the old chain link in the back of the yard, but I'm realizing that I can accomplish the same thing with grasses and other pretties. And I'm thinking that a shade garden would be a lovely thing to add. I'm pretty darn excited about the possibilities.
